Monday, November 1, 2010

Vegetables For Breakfast!

The new USDA Guidelines are suggesting up to 9 servings of fruit and veggies a day for adults--that is a lot! A "serving" is 4 ounces so we need to plan for about 36 ounces of produce. Once we get our salad at lunch and dinner and eat our baked potato--how do we sneak in another 5 or 6 servings? The earlier in the day we start munching through our allotment, the better our chances of making our quota!

Start off with Veggies for Breakfast!

Prepare ahead of time: Slice & dice a pound or two of bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms and saute them until the onions are translucent. Keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Hash: Chop leftover meat and potatoes and fry in a little oil until they start to get crispy. Add 1/2 cup of your cooked veggies and heat through. Sprinkle a little salsa and shredded cheese on top and serve! (3/4 cup potato with skin, 1/2 cup pre-cooked veggies, 1/4 cup salsa= 3 servings of veggies!)

Omelette: Beat 2 eggs or 3 egg whites and start cooking in an egg pan(on medium heat) with a little olive oil. Add 1/2 cup cooked veggies and a sprinkle of cheese to one side of the eggs. Fold over and cook until heated through. (1 serving of veggies)

Heat oil in a deep 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 4, spoon 1/8 cup potato mixture per latke into oil and flatten to 3-inch diameter with a slotted spatula. Reduce heat to moderate and cook until golden, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Transfer latkes with spatula to paper towels to drain. (2 Servings with 2 servings of veggies each)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat oven-proof skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add ham; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes. Add asparagus, broccoli, and onion; and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. If using spinach, add it last and cook until wilted. 2. In small bowl whisk together egg whites and pepper, pour over vegetables in skillet. Cover; cook until edges are set and bottom is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Top with tomatoes and sprinkle with cheese. 3. Transfer skillet to oven and bake 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut into wedges. Serve sprinkled with fresh basil, if desired. (2 Servings with 4 servings of veggies each)

(Part B) Cook the eggs in batches to get a layering effect6. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp oil & ladle in 1/3 of the eggs.7. Add 1/3 of the stir-fried ingredients (from step 5)8. Fry til golden on both sides.9. Add another 1/3 of the eggs and 1/3 ot the stir fried ingredients (from step 5)10. Fry til golden on both sides.11. Add the last remaining 1/3 of the eggs and 1/3 ot the stir fried ingredients (from step 5)12. Fry til golden on both sides.

(Part C) Make the Sauce13. To make the sauce: combine sauce ingredients in small pan, bring to boil.14. Simmer gently til thickened.